Today starts the Richmond Greek Festival and it will continue until Sunday. This will be the 36th year that Saints Constantine and Helen’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral will be showing off its traditions and cultural to thousands of Richmonders.

When it comes to the food at this Greek festival they offer all the classics. You can find a great selection of Greek wines, beer, gyros, pastries, loukoumades, pastichio, souvlaki, and of course you can’t forget the baklava. For those that are not well versed with the Greek culture (that would be me!) they offer a wonderful Greek Festival Culinary Guide with blurbs about what the foods are and how to pronounce them.

Once you get your food they offer a great seating area where you can sit back, enjoy your Mythos beer and watch the festivities. Their dance troupes perform authentic traditional Hellenic dances throughout the weekend. When there are no performers you can listen to the music that is being played while you wander through the Agora or Greek market or take a tour of the church. This festival has everything and is fun for the whole family!

One of my favorite movies is My Big Fat Greek Wedding so I just had to share this clip with you. Who doesn't love Joey Fatone:)

If you live in Richmond I hope you are able to make it to the festival this weekend! I cannot wait to go. This church puts on an amazing event and the desserts are to die for. You can find more information about the festival on their website or on their Facebook event page. Oopa!

Each person’s wedding style is a representation of the couple’s own style. When it comes to picking out your wedding colors it is always important to pick colors that you can use to represent the style of the bride and groom. For a preppy couple a great color combination is navy and pink.

The great thing about a navy and pink wedding color theme is that it can be done during anytime of the year. Navy and pink are very seasonally adaptable as you can choose a pastel or bold shade of pink. When it comes to this preppy palette the bride is able to be a little girly with the pink while the groom gets to favor the navy. And as pink and navy create such a preppy style, a customized monogram looks amazing with everything!

Here are some amazing inspiration boards for a preppy navy and pink wedding:

At The Perfect Palette you can choose from over 50 different colors and view coordinating color combinations like these navy and pink ones.

You just cannot go wrong with using navy and pink for a wedding. Share about your favorite navy and pink wedding inspiration in the comments below. Sign-up for The Preppy Planner emails here or by emailing ThePreppyPlanner@gmail.com.

With people always wanting something new for their event, the trends are always changing. This year's fashion and electronic fads are having a huge influence on the new event trends. Here are my top 10 trends that I am loving in 2012:

1. Pantone Color Palettes. So many companies are using these color palettes that Pantone publishes every year. The 2012 color of the year is PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango. Events this year have really started to embrace this color as you can find it in foods, décor, invitations and clothing at events. Image from Signature Style by Shelia Ward.

2. Outdoor Furnishings. With event hosts looking for what is new, the outdoor event is an easy trend to follow. Events are not just located in the standard ballroom location but are also overflowing into exotic outdoor locals. With this move the furnishings need to be weather resistant while also keeping up with the modern style. Image from Designer8*.

3. Online Invites. With a lot of companies and event hosts looking for a way to go green with their event this couldn’t be an easier way. There are now a host of online event sites that you can choose from. Some of my favorite site to use are pingg, punchbowl and Paperless Post.

4. Apps. Between Apple and Android you can find an app to download about anything, including event planning. There are an array of apps that can help the bride-to-be like Colorschemer, Prepare to Wed and Brides. There are also event planning ones like Wedding Planner from The Knot, myBanquet and Event Planning for Your Business. With new apps coming out every day there is an endless amount of possibilities with apps. You can learn about more event planning apps from Katherine Gray’s story featured on USA Today.

5. Social Media. With everyone having a Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, blog and whatever else account it is no wonder that social media has finally started becoming a staple in event planning. You can find events with live Tweeting, advertised through Facebook or being blogged about.

6. QR Codes. Following with our electronic trend craze, the QR code has gained popularity with companies over the past year and are now being used with events. You can link a video promoting your event or send the invitee to the event website now with the click of the QR code. QR codes are easy to create online and to add to any event. Try this code to see where it takes you!

7. Local Foods. Farmers markets are a weekly Saturday favorite of my family as well as restaurants. With the green movement continuing to grow you will start to see more restaurants and catering companies getting their produce from local suppliers. If you need a way to promote that your event is eco-friendly, supporting your local farmer’s market is a great way to achieve this. If you live in Virginia you can visit the Virginia Grown website to find a farmer's market near you.

8. Interactive Entertainment. If you ask anyone what their favorite event was that they attending they will probably tell you one that they were able to take part in. Providing an interactive experience at your event for your attendee increases the probability that the attendee with have a better time and also remember the event. Interactive entertain could include gaming areas, dancing, initiating the attendees 5 senses, wandering artists and photo favors. Here is a live performing acrobat at a holiday party that I helped with a few years ago.

9. Alternative Dining. Finding new and creative dining options provide event planner and designers a way to meet their client’s want of setting their event apart from the rest. Using a variety of seating options, antique furniture, or anything distressed, acrylic or mirrored can provide that alternative dining option. Using alternative dining options gives the planner a new decorating option when it comes to incorporating the theme. AFR furniture rental shows multiple ides when it comes to using alternative dining at an event.

10. Custom Details. This is by far my favorite! Event customization can include creating personal monograms, incorporating family traditions and a lot of DIY details. I love using Etsy in helping with any event customization. As any preppy girl can tell you they love to customize anything and everything! Image from Caitlin Arnold Weddings.

Which trend is your favorite for 2012? Share your favorite trend in the comment section below. Don't forget that you can keep up with everything from The Preppy Planner by following me on Twitter @PreppyPlanner.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone! Did you know that Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. It wasn't until the 1960's that it officially became known as Memorial Day. Today you can honor those that are currently serving or have past by visiting the Virtual Wall of Remembrance where you can post a note, photo,video or eulogy for a loved one.

Happy Memorial Day from the beach!

WhatareyoudoingforMemorialDaytoday?Come back tomorrow for my Tuesday Top Ten list for the week. You can follow me on Twitter @PreppyPlanner and sign-up for my emails on my "Follow Me" page.

To celebrate the Memorial Day weekend I decided to make cupcakes for our guests coming to the beach. Here is what I did. First, I made up some white cake batter, and then divided it into thirds. Here is recipe that I used for the batter:

Once I divided the batter I used food coloring to color one third of the batter red, one third blue, and then left the last third white.

Next, put cupcake liners in your holder and spray each before you put any batter into the cups. I first added the blue to each of the cupcake liners and made sure to gently tap the pan to level out the batter. Then I dropped in a spoonful of the plain white batter and then the red. This should fill up the liners to about 1/4 - 1/3 from the top.

Bake them in the oven on 365 degrees for about 12-18 minutes or until done. Once they were cooled off I decorated them with icing and sprinkles to make them festive! Enjoy!

Are you making anything for a Memorial Day party this weekend? Don't forget I’ll be posting pictures of my Memorial Day weekend next week and would love to hear about your celebration plans in the comments below!

As always make sure you sign-up for my email list on the “Follow Me” page and to following me on Twitter @PreppyPlanner!

Welcome back for Themed Thursday! With Memorial Day weekend coming up I thought it would be nice to coordinate today’s theme. When I think of Memorial Day parties I think red, white and blue and kicking off the start of summer. This year my family and I are all headed down to the beach for a fun filled weekend with friends.

No matter where you are celebrating your Memorial Day weekend you can easily put together a fun and patriotic celebration. Here are some great ways that you can dress up your own Memorial Day celebration.

Just buy everything red, white and blue for the celebration from Courtney at Pizzazzerie

If you choose to tie the knot during one of the three major summer holidays, Memorial Day, 4th of July or Labor Day, you can easily add a little more sparkle to your special day. The sparkle I am talking about does not come from a jewelry store. I am talking about fireworks!

Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day are all usually celebrated with fireworks. Having your wedding during one of these holidays easily allows the bride and groom to add sparklers or a fireworks show to their evening. Just as a reminder not all venues allow for sparklers or fireworks, so if you are interested in having them make sure to check with the venue managers when you are first visiting the venues.

Sparklers. Sparklers are a fun option that allows your guests to share in the fun of your big day. They can be tied into the evening with your guests holding them outside of the church or when the happy couple departs from the reception. Large sparklers allow for them to stay sparkling while the couple depart and offer great pictures. When shopping for sparklers if you search using the term “wedding sparklers” you will find the ones you need.

Fireworks. Another great option is to have an end of the evening fireworks show. This will help provide a nice closure to the evening and offer a great entertainment value while incorporating the summer holiday subtly into your big day. An easy way to set this up without having to coordinate your own show is to hold your event near a place that is already having a firework show. In many large cities like Washington D.C. and New York City a huge firework display is already set up along the water fronts. If you can book a venue for your big day with a perfect view of the show then you don’t have to worry about any liability associated with fireworks. If you don’t have that option you can still set up your own show.

SAFETY FIRST! Just make sure that you work with the venue when planning to use sparklers so that they can plan on having sand buckets and water on hand to help extinguish the sparklers. As the bride and groom you also want to make sure that you have enough space to walk through the sparklers without being too close, so plan accordingly. If you are hosting a firework show make sure that the guests are viewing the show from a safe distance. It is also important that the firework show is being staffed by responsible third party vendors. You wouldn’t want a family member that has been parting all night to be in charge of the firework show now would you.

Have you been to a wedding that had a little extra sparkle? Share your picture on pinterest #PreppyPlanner or post a link to a picture of your event below.

Check back tomorrow for our Themed Thursday post! Don’t forget to sign-up for the email list on the Follow Me page or to get your daily notification by following me on Twitter @PreppyPlanner.

This weekend kicks off the “unofficial” start of summer! For me the Memorial Day weekend starts a series of fun trips to the river, beach and spending time outdoors at events. During the summer, Richmond is host to a variety of festivals, races and outdoor events. Here are my Tuesday Top Ten summer events in Richmond!

Welcome to the Preppy Planner! Here you will be able to follow everything about events. From weddings to casual get-togethers I will talk about the ins and outs of event planning. Each week I will feature a Weekend recap on Monday from an event that weekend, a Top 10 list on Tuesday, a Wedding Wednesday spotlight, Themed Thursday featuring different event themes and a Foodie Friday.

You can check back each day to follow my blog posts or you can sign-up to receive a daily email link once the post it up. You can sign-up for my emails on my “Follow Me” page. If you don’t want to receive emails but still want to be notified when I post you can follow my Twitter feed @PreppyPlanner. I also have created a page on Pinterest #PreppyPlanner where I will post all my ideas that I have shared with you (plus a little more) on my site.

With so much going on this summer for me I can’t wait to share everything with you! Check back tomorrow for my first Tuesday Top 10 post!

Link LoveI always want to give proper credit for the ideas and images featured here. If I have used an image of yours and miss marked it or you'd rather I not use it, please email me, and I'll be happy to remove it. Likewise, please give content found here proper credit by citing the source, the photographer, and by linking back. Thanks!